The marathon came 10 years after the previous longest game, a 2008 first-round meeting that also featured the AHL affiliates of the Flyers and Hurricanes. That came April 24, 2008 when Philadelphia defeated Albany 3-2 in a game that was just under four minutes shorter at 82:58.

Krushnelnyski's goal was the 53rd shot on Checkers goalie Alex Nedeljkovic. Incredibly, Phantons goalie Alex Lyon nearly doubled that. He stopped 94 of 95 shots, the second-highest total in league history.

The game was also longer than all but three National Hockey League games ever played.

With the win, the Phantons took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven Atlantic Division Finals series. The teams can rest until Game 5 on Saturday.

The Grand Rapids Griffins, by the way, have gone into a third overtime twice in playoff games, in 2001 against Orlando (4-3 loss) and in 2006 at Toronto (6-5 win).

There was one former Griffins who played in Wednesday's game in Lehigh Valley left winner Chris Connor. He played for the Griffins in 2011-12.